Posted on: October 19th, 2010

Notes on Community Meeting, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010

Amy Hardy, our Chair of the Town Council, opened the meeting and expressed her pleasure to be finally meeting in Gold Hill again and to see the great turn out.

 

She encouraged people to apply for available funds.  The Boulder Mountain Fire Relief Fund of the Community Foundation (seewww.commfound.org) has over $600,000 available and our town fund has over $10,000.  The Town Meeting on Oct. 11 will be deciding how people want to give out these funds.

She then introduced Ryan Ludlow, Boulder County Forestry Ed. and Outreach (rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org).  He reported that the County is here to figure out what help we need, how they can provide help, and that they are committed to finding us the answers to our questions.

Ryan then introduced members from the FEST (Fire Rehabilitation and Stabilization Team).  They stressed that their study and report is on a watershed level.  In the email Amy sent out from Tara Kimbrough this morning, she reported on the flooding dangers for the next 3-5 years on the steeper slopes and that aerial mulching is planned. For more information, see bouldercounty.org/fourmilefire as well as please contact

Boyd Byelich, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 303-776-4034 x3

Therese Glowacki, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, 303-678-6206

Team coordinator:

Claire DeLeo at 303-678-6205 or send an email to: cdeleo@nullbouldercounty.org

For help with contour tree felling, reforestation, and general questions about forest stewardship

Colorado State Forest Service – Boulder District
5625 Ute Highway
Longmont, CO 80503-9130
(303) 823-5774
http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/boulderdist.html

For help with seeding recommendations, and soil information including stabilization

Natural Resources Conservation Service – Longmont Field Office
9595 Nelson Rd. Suite D
Longmont, CO 80501
(303) 776-4034 x3
http://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/features/colorado-wild-fires/focus-events-fires.htm

The highlights that I remember are that many of the not-so-steep slopes, like our Town Meadow, are expected to recover on their own.  There is no immediate need to cut down burned trees, except hazard trees – those that are burned at the roots and are in danger of falling.  They provide some shelter, stabilization, and shade up here. Septic fields are deep enough that they are probably all right even if they were burned over, unless fire trucks, etc. were parked on them. The County is working to provide help with debris – Debris Removal and Hauling Boulder County Resource Conservation Division: 
720-564-2224 or hcollins@nullbouldercounty.org The County is also working to streamline rebuilding requirements – contact Land Use Department at (303) 441-3930, or email: ksanchez@nullbouldercounty.org to find out the latest news.  And they intend to be actively working with all the residents of the burn area to help with all the issues.

They also passed out green CSFS folders and tons of written information about rehabilitation of the forest, fact sheets, and a PERMIT FOR EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROTECTION WORK (EWP), which they need everyone to sign to give permission for the emergency stabilization work, including aerial mulching, in order to carry out the watershed wide work.  Kris Gibson has several of these folders – contact her if you need one kgkeewee@nullnetzero.net or 303-545-9670.

Again, for current information, see www.bouldercounty.org/fourmilefire